ITEACEAE. 485 



repand-denticulate. glabrous and shining above ; corymbs 5-8 cm. broad; flowers 

 white, fragrant, 6-8 mm. broad; calyx-teeth deciduous; capsule top-shaped, 4-6 

 mm. high, tipped with the conic persistent style. In swamps, Va. to Fla. and La. 

 May-June. 



3. PHILADELPHIA L. 



Shrubs, with petioled simple deciduous leaves. Flowers large, terminal or 

 axillary, corymbose, racemose or solitary, white or cream-colored. Calyx-tube 

 top-shaped, adnate to the ovary, 4-5-lobed. Petals 4 or 5, convolute, rounded or 

 ol)ovate. Stamens inserted on the disk. Ovary 3-5-celled; styles filiform, dis- 

 tinct, or united at the base; ovules 00 . Capsule top-shaped, 3-5-celled, at length 

 loculicidally dehiscent by 3-5 valves, many-seeded. Seeds oblong, the testa 

 membranous, produced at each end. [Named after King Ptolemy Philadelphus.] 

 About 15 species, natives of N. Am., Mex., Asia and Europe. Besides the follow- 

 ing, about 5 others occur in southern and western N. Am. 



Flowers inodorous, solitary or few. 



Calyx-lobes about equalling; the tube, acute. 1. P. inodorus. 



Calyx-lobes about twice as long as the tube, acuminate. 2. P. grandiflorus ; 



Flowers racemose, numerous, fragrant. 3. P. coronarius. 



i. Philadelphus inodorus L. Scentless Syringa. (I. F. f. 1861.) A 

 shrub, 2-3 m. high, glabrous or very nearly so. Leaves ovate or oval, acute or 

 acuminate at the apex, rounded or sometimes narrowed at the base, 5-12 cm. long, 

 strongly 3 -nerved, serrate with small distant teeth, or entire; flowers about 3 cm. 

 broad. In thickets, Va. to Ala. and Ga. Escaped from cultivation in Penn. 

 May. 



2. Philadelphus grandiflorus Willd. Large-flowered Syringa. (I. F. f. 

 1862.) A shrub, 2-3 m. high, resembling the preceding. Leaves broadly ovate 

 or oval, more or less pubescent, especially beneath, 7-12 cm. long, acuminate at 

 the apex, rounded or narrowed at the base, sharply dentate, 3-nerved; flowers 4- 

 5 cm. broad. In low grounds, Va. to Tenn. and Fla. April-May. 



3. Philadelphus coronarius L. Garden Syringa. Mock Orange. (I. 

 F. f. 1863.) A shrub 0.5-3 in. high. Leaves short-petioled, oval, elliptic or ovate- 

 elliptic. 5-10 cm. long, glabrous above, pubescent beneath, acute or acuminate at 

 the apex, denticulate with distant teeth, 3-nerved; flowers 2.5-4 cm. broad, creamy 

 white; calyx-lobes ovate, acute, longer than the tube. Escaped from gardens in 

 Va. and Ohio, and sparingly in the Middle and Eastern States. Native of Europe. 

 May-June 



Family 7. ITEACEAE Agardh. 



Virginia Willow Family. 



Shrubs or small trees with simple alternate leaves, no stipules and 

 racemose flowers. Calyx 5-lobed, adnate to the base of the ovary. Petals 

 5. Stamens 5, inserted on the disk. Carpels 2, united to or near the apex. 

 Capsule membranaceous, 2-celled, mostly superior, only the base enclosed 

 in the calyx. Seeds several with a copious endosperm. 



1. ITEA L. 



Shrubs or small trees, with petioled deciduous leaves, and small white flowers. 

 Calyx-tube obconic or campanulate. Petals linear, their apices inflexed. Stigma 

 2-grooved in our species; ovules few or numerous. Capsule oblong or narrowly 

 conic, 2-valved. Seeds narrow, flattish, the testa produced at each end. [Greek 

 for willow, which its leaves resemble.] About 5 species, natives of the eastern U. 

 S. and Asia. The following is the only one known to occur in N. Am. 



1. Itea Virginica L. Itea. Virginia Willow. (I. F. f. 1864.) A shrub 

 10-25 cm. high, the twigs and inflorescence finally pubescent. Leaves short-peti- 

 oled, narrowly oval, oblanceolate or rarely obovate, 3-7 cm. long, acute or acumi- 

 nate at the apex, narrowed at the base, sharply serrulate, glabrous, or with a few 

 hairs along the veins beneath; racemes terminal, dense, 5-15 cm long; flowers 



